All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Thank you so much everyone! All of this advice has really got me thinking. I will definitely do plenty of shopping for lenders and see what they offer. I had no idea that great credit wasn't required. I will do my best to make this happen for us. Thank you again!

Hi! My boyfriend and I are both 22 years old and want to buy our first property, hopefully a four-plex, this year (Milwaukee, WI). We are going to try for an FHA loan so we can house hack

The issue I'm worried about is that we are not married, he makes all the money, and I'm the only one with good credit (because he didn't know about a past debt). What kind of issues might we run in to? Is there any way to solve this? How can we go about securing financing within the year?

Since I'm new to REI, I appreciate any advice! I will gladly try to learn from others' mistakes! Thank you so much!

I currently rent with my significant other. Before discovering financial independence (FIRE) and REI, we planned on renting indefinitely. We like being able to call a landlord for emergencies or have maintenance take care of the place instead of worrying about it. His job also offers very good opportunities if you don't get tied down to one place (think, promotions for transferring).

We've always known that buying a house is probably better for our money in the long run, but it was more of a hassle than we were willing to deal with. Now that we've discovered FIRE and REI, our life plans have changed a bit. He now doesn't see himself at this job forever. Surprisingly, home-ownership has opened up many more opportunities for us than renting would have.

Do you have to be PRO? Before I jump into buying my first property, I'm going to be moving and will need a place to rent for a while. I would love to see what the investors on here have to offer, but I don't know if you have to be PRO or if the site even offers that opportunity. Thank you!

Hi! I couldn't think of a better place to post this, and since I'm a beginner I have to ask! I decided to get very good at assessing properties and want to use my free trials of the BRRRR and Rental Property calculators here on BP. I'm having a hell of a time figuring out how to get tax information for any property. I'm looking in the Milwaukee area and this website is as far as I've gotten: http://assessments.milwaukee.gov/

I will pull up a property but no tax information is listed. Where do I find annual property taxes? I'm going crazy.

Thank you all for the replies!

@Joshua Martin @Bryan L. I'm glad to hear it went well for you! It definitely sounds like the type of education I'm looking for. Did you do this alongside being an investor? I am considering using it as an educational tool in my toolbox as well as a way to dip my toes into REI. Would you reccomend this, or would the class only be for someone looking to be a Full Time Agent? Thank you!

I currently live in Michigan but will be moving to the Milwaukee area sometime in March or April 2017. I think to get started on my goal to become a multi-family landlord, I would like to get an RE agent's licence. Is wra.org (Wisconsin Realtors Association) a good place to start? I've found that they offer an online class that you have 6 months to complete before you can take an exam. Since I'm new, I just dont want to be giving out money for classes that wont help me. Has anyone been through this? Can anyone offer advice for getting a licence if not this class? Thank you!

@Matt Boyle Thank you for the insight. I will definitely look more into recognizing problems then! 

This may sound a bit ridiculous, but I've heard only a handful of times that contractors can be quite hard to deal with and having a knowledge of their field makes it easier. Do you know that too be true at all? I have no problems hiring the right man for the job, but don't want to be talked down to if I'm less knowledgeable. I'm not sure if that's even a meaningful concern though haha.

I'm still very new to the idea of real estate investing, so I'm doing plenty of reading. I would really love to be a landlord by house hacking and eventually following the BRRRR strategy to gain more properties. How necessary is a knowledge of construction and similar trades (electric, plumbing, HVAC, etc)? I have always had a song interest in these subjects but have no idea how to start learning them.

I do have a family member who works directly underneath a contractor and could get me a job but I feel like my lack of knowledge would just slow down the team. 

In your experience, what knowledge should i pursue and what should I just learn as I go?

@Rick S.
Thank you for that!